Angry and defiant, Eric stood to his full not-inconsiderable-height and stared his best friend down with an expression reminiscent of the Hulk's—if the Hulk had looked like a human that had been crossbred with a monkey. “Maybe if you weren’t such a pansy and actually acted like a man for once, I wouldn’t have to act like this! Did you think about that? Well?!”
Kevin’s eye twitching increased.
“ What is that supposed to mean?”
“ It means what it means.”
“ That’s not an answer! And don’t try to sound so cryptic! You’re not a wise old man wearing a bathrobe; mysterious and vague doesn’t suit you!”
As Kevin began arguing with Eric, Lindsay leaned over in her seat and whispered to Lilian, who was watching the battle of words unfold with rapt attention.
“ It looks like Kevin’s beginning to get a bit protective over you, huh?”
Lilian smiled.
“ It does seem that way, doesn’t it?”
“ I don’t know what you did to help Kevin get over his girl problem,” Lindsay continued, “but I’m glad you did.” Looking at the curvaceous redhead, Lindsay bit her bottom lip. “And please, take care of him for me.”
Observing the soccer player with keen eyes that saw more than they probably should, Lilian sat silently for several seconds before her countenance softened.
“ Don’t worry, I will. I promise.”
Lindsay gave her a grateful, if watery, smile.
“ Thank you.”
“ You’re welcome.”
The two smiled at one another, sharing in a moment of camaraderie, one that they had yet to experience in the three weeks they'd known each other. It looked like this would be the beginning of a beautiful friendship—
“ I’m just saying that if you stopped pussy-footing around, we wouldn’t be in this mess! You’d have your girl and I’d have my Tit Maiden! Everyone would be happy!”
“ No, they wouldn’t! You clearly don’t know what you’re talking about! No one would be happy but you! And stop mentioning Tit Maidens!”
—and the deterioration of another friendship.
Chapter 2
Mall Time Troubles
Half-an-hour after leaving the ice cream parlor Lindsay and her soccer friends, along with Kevin, Lilian and Eric, met up with Justin, Alex and Andrew.
Several minutes after that, they ran into Christine.
“ Let go of him! Can’t you see that Kevin doesn’t like you yanking on him like that?!”
“ Me? Ha! You’re the one who’s pulling his arm off, ya damn vixen! You let go!”
“ You first!”
Standing on the sidelines of what looked to be an epic argument between a certain fox-girl and a snow maiden, Eric, Lindsay, Alex, Andrew, Justin and the rest of Lindsay’s soccer team all watched the ensuing conflict with their best “I have no idea how this happened” faces.
“ Wow, those two really don’t want each other to have Kevin,” Katy, one of Lindsay’s soccer teammates, said, her eyes riveted on the battle.
Lindsay watched the tug-of-war between Lilian and Christine—who had appeared a few minutes after they’d left the ice cream parlor—worrying for her friend caught in the middle of this fiendish struggle. Kevin wasn’t looking too good, what with the eyes rolled up in the back of his head and the arm yanking and everything.
“ Do you think we should stop them, Eric…” Lindsay trailed off, her expression deadpanning when she saw Eric viciously biting his T-shirt and glaring daggers at his best friend.
“ Damn that Kevin!” he grumbled, though, because his mouth was full of shirt, it sounded more like “mam ma Feffin!” Lindsay did her best to translate the boy’s unusual tirade. “Foof Af Fim, fanfing fere wif fose fomen fifing ofer him! Fuffy Bafard! Fam fu, Fefin Sfif!”
Somehow, Lindsay actually managed to translate the string of unintelligible mutterings: “look at him, standing there while those women fight over him! Lucky bastard! Damn you, Kevin Swift!” At least, that was what she thought he was saying. It wasn’t like she
Learning to Kill: Stories